Mamaearth parent logs Rs 151 Cr loss in FY23 ahead of public listing

Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd—the parent of skincare brand Mamaearth—has posted a loss of Rs 151 crore in the financial year ending March 2023, against a profit of Rs 14.4 crore last year, weighed down by rising employee benefit and other expenses.

The Delhi-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) company saw a 58% increase in operating revenue at Rs 1,493 crore in FY23 compared to Rs 943 crore in the previous year. However, total expenditure grew to Rs 1,502 crore from Rs 942 crore last year.

Employee benefit cost shot up 109% to Rs 165 crore in the period compared to Rs 79 crore in FY22, while other expenses surged 50% to Rs 858 crore, according to filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Mamaearth became India’s first unicorn of 2022 after it raised $52 million in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners at a valuation of $1.2 billion. According to media reports, it is set to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on October 31, months after halting the plan in March given the tricky economic conditions.

Honasa Consumer, which owns several beauty brands including The Derma Co and Aqualogica, is expected to raise Rs 10,500 crore in an initial public offering (IPO), as per media reports, which raised questions among industry onlookers about the timing and the valuation.

However, Co-founder Ghazal Alagh had said that the firm has neither cited nor subscribed to the valuation number being spoken widely about.

The company was also reportedly in talks to raise a pre-IPO round of $120 million to $150 million (up to Rs 1,200 crore) to enable early investors to cash out.

(The story was updated to correct a typo)